


Blanket

by dornishsphinx



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26132347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dornishsphinx/pseuds/dornishsphinx
Summary: The newly-installed Queen Anthiese hears of one of her old keepsakes, left behind in a burning palace now overrun with monsters. The queen's knight has a blessed lance and a penchant for venturing into such places for the sake of the ones she likes.
Relationships: Anthiese | Celica/Clea | Clair
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Blanket

Maybe it was foolhardy. The palace was well-known to be a nest of monsters, after all, and people whispered that the spectres of Lima’s dead children and brides wandered there, still burning, even if there were now known to be two less restless ghosts than previously reported. But every time she’d thought to turn back—nobody knew she was here, nor what she was planning to do, so there was nothing to lose—she’d recalled that little spark of awe on the Queen’s face when Prince Conrad had handed over the crude little reproductions he’d attempted of the intricate blankets and clothes her mother had woven.

_“They rendered you immune to ice and to fire, even to lightning, and were still pleasant to the eye! I imagine they must have been Mila’s own designs that she was taught at the temple—if not, Lady Liprica truly was a genius without compare. These are nothing next to the real thing, unfortunately. I’m sorry.”_

Queen Anthiese, ever gracious, had patted her brother’s shoulder, told him to not worry about it, and kept a firm hold of his attempt at her mother’s handiwork while he changed topic and babbled on about this and that. Clair, in a corner, was supposed to be keeping guard of the Queen’s person and keeping an eye out for assailants, but had shirked her duty for a good few moments to study her in profile instead. Her expression had been a happy, wistful one and she’d all but held the sketches next to her heart.

It wasn’t uncharacteristic, by any means. At this point, Clair had a fair grasp on what Queen Anthiese was normally like, especially around those dear friends who had accompanied her to Zofia, around Alm, and around those comrades she’d recruited to her side and who still called her _Celica_. She’d always had the loveliest smile, and was quick to a charming laugh. Lately, though, since her closest friends had begged permission to return to Novis, the Queen had been ever distant and regal even in private. It set Clair ill at ease to see her in such a mood.

And anyway! It was ridiculous, if you asked her, that those two had gone back to a rock in the middle of the ocean when their friend was a queen and they were heroes to a realm with prestige and praise for the taking. And some friends! Had they just not noticed the downcast look the Queen had worn as she gave them leave to go, or had they presumed themselves something fleeting, inconsequential and better off out-of-the-way in face of her royal destiny? She had half a mind to drag them back from that damned priory herself, if they’d even reached it yet; indeed, sometimes, on those occasions where Queen Anthiese wore a particularly sombre expression, the urge to fly all the way north, pluck Alm from his cold Rigelian throne and bring him south as a gift would overwhelm her.

So, yes, it was a whim, and probably a foolish one, but after her shift keeping watch over the Queen had ended, she’d picked out her old blessed lance, gone straight for the pegasus stables, vaulted onto Erinys’ back, and flown off for the burnt-out shell of the old children’s palace. But it was a whim that she was good enough now to follow through on without needing a saviour, with an escape strategy and greater knowledge of her own limitations–and indeed, far fewer limitations–than last time. Besides, easier an old enchanted keepsake than a new bout of diplomatic headaches with Rigel or other live cargo; no, that would be rather like a cat bringing back an eviscerated mouse and expecting praise.

On that thought, she spotted her destination in the distance, and brought Erinys down to investigate further. As she peered out at the broken, blackened walls of the complex, spotted some moving shapes wandering up and down what were once corridors, and made some quick calculations in her head, she almost sent a prayer to Mila before stopping herself. Old habits died hard, it seemed, even when you were the one to have killed them.

She unhooked the lance from her back, glowing with its white light, imagined Queen Anthiese’s usual smile returning to her face, and gave Erinys the order to plunge down into the mirk.


End file.
